During the photofestival Global Detail two five-day workshops for students of European photoacademies were held: the Euroclasses on Documentary Photography.

The photography students were stimulated to think about their own approach and method, and those of their collegues. The two sessions consisted of intensive looking, working and talking. The objective was to define their own point of view, with questions such as: what do you want to photograph, how do you work and what is your goal?

The results of the Euroclasses were showed in the exhibition Global Detail during one day.

Every day started off with a lecture by one of the teachers. Accompanied by a lot of photos they told about their work, their developments and their life as a photographer. Some teachers gave the students an assignment before they went into the city of Groningen to take photos themselves.

The two Euroclasses were very different from each other. The most important part of the first week were the conversations about the practice of professional photography. Every teacher had a different story about what photography is, the importance of photography and about what it means to himself. The differences in work and conviction between them led to various passionate and inspiring discussions, that dealt with the main aspects of photography and being a photographer. Above all the students understood that there are many ways to be a good photographer. We hope it inspired them to find their own.

Link: results of the first Euroclass

In the second week the students spent a lot of time taking photos and printing and discussing them. The conversations that followed the daily lectures gave them a good insight into the choices that have to be made while photographing. With great concentration and interest the students discussed eachother's and the teachers' work, paying much attention to form, content and connotation. This resulted in very personal and sometimes confronting conversations. It was good to see that all students were able to make surprising developments in such short time.

Link: results of the second Euroclass

The students as well as the teachers, were very enthousiastic about the course of the Euroclasses. They were fun, educating and motivating. Afterwards, some students let us know to have developed a whole new approach in their photography.

Link: photographic report

We consider it to be important for photography students to meet professional photographers, and to talk about their work with people outside their own academy. Besides that, the exchange with other (foreign) students proves to be very stimulating. Noorderlicht therefore hopes to be able to continue organising the Euroclasses in the future.

For any questions: Irene Kromhout (irene@noorderlicht.com).